User equipment, cleaning robot including the same, and method for controlling cleaning robot

Abstract

Disclosed is a user equipment (UE), cleaning robot including the same, and method for controlling the cleaning robot, which is intended for a cleaning robot to move to a place where there is the user by the user transmitting a radio communication signal to the cleaning robot and the cleaning robot estimating a location from which the radio communication signal is transmitted based on attenuation ratios of signal intensities over distance. An embodiment of the cleaning robot includes a main body; a moving unit for moving the main body; a communication unit for performing wireless communication with a user equipment (UE); and a robot controller for determining a location of the UE based on intensity of a radio communication signal received by the communication unit, wherein the robot controller controls the moving unit to move the main body to the determined location of the UE once the location of the UE is determined.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cleaning robot comprising:
 a main body;   a moving unit to move the main body;   a communication unit to perform wireless communication with a user equipment (UE); and   a robot controller to determine a location of the UE based on intensity of a radio communication signal received by the communication unit,   wherein the robot controller is configured to control the moving unit to move the main body to the determined location of the UE in response to the location of the UE being determined.   
     
     
         2 . The cleaning robot of  claim 1 , wherein the communication unit comprises:
 at least one receiving module to receive a radio communication signal from the UE; and   a transmitting module to transmit a radio communication signal to the UE.   
     
     
         3 . The cleaning robot of  claim 2 , wherein the robot controller is further configured to:
 determine that a distance between the UE and the main body decreases when the intensity of the radio communication signal increases, and   determine that a distance between the UE and the main body increases when the intensity of the radio communication signal decreases.   
     
     
         4 . The cleaning robot of  claim 2 , wherein the robot controller is further configured to:
 determine a direction of the UE using information about a distance between the UE and the main body determined based on the intensity of a radio communication signal received by the receiving module multiple times while the main body is moving.   
     
     
         5 . The cleaning robot of  claim 4 , wherein the robot controller is further configured to:
 determine a direction of the UE by detecting a point of intersection between a plurality of coordinate values corresponding to a distance between the UE and the main body when the main body is at a first location and a plurality of coordinate values corresponding to a distance between the UE and the main body when the main body is at a second location.   
     
     
         6 . The cleaning robot of  claim 2 , wherein the robot controller is further configured to:
 determine a direction of the UE using information about a distance between the UE and the main body determined based on the intensity of the radio communication signal received by each receiving module when the at least one receiving module comprises a plurality of receiving modules.   
     
     
         7 . The cleaning robot of  claim 2 , wherein the transmitting module is configured to transmit at least one piece of information about whether the receiving module has received the radio communication signal, whether the main body has moved, or whether the main body has arrived at the determined location of the UE to the UE. 
     
     
         8 . The cleaning robot of  claim 3 , further comprising a storage to store information about correlations in which the intensity of the radio communication signal varies with the distance between the UE and the main body. 
     
     
         9 . A method for controlling a cleaning robot that includes a main body, a moving unit for moving the main body, and at least one receiving module for receiving a radio communication signal from the UE, the method comprising:
 by at least one controller, receiving a radio communication signal from the UE;   determining a location of the UE based on intensity of the received radio communication signal; and   controlling the moving unit to move the main body to the determined location of the UE based on the determined location of the UE.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the determining of a location of the UE based on intensity of the received radio communication signal comprises:
 determining that a distance between the UE and the main body decreases when the intensity of the radio communication signal increases, and   determining that a distance between the UE and the main body increases when the intensity of the radio communication signal decreases.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the determining of a location of the UE based on intensity of the received radio communication signal comprises:
 determining a direction of the UE using information about a distance between the UE and the main body determined based on intensity of a radio communication signal received multiple times while the main body is moving.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the determining of a direction of the UE comprises detecting a point of intersection between a plurality of coordinate values corresponding to a distance between the UE and the main body when the main body is at a first location and a plurality of coordinate values corresponding to a distance between the UE and the main body when the main body is at a second location. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the determining of a direction of the UE comprises determining a direction of the UE using information about a distance between the UE and the main body determined based on the intensity of the radio communication signal received by each receiving module when the at least one receiving module is provided in plural. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising, by the at least one controller, transmitting a radio communication signal to the UE. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the transmitting of the radio communication signal to the UE comprises:
 transmitting at least one piece of information about whether the receiving module has received the radio communication signal, whether the main body is moving, or whether the main body has arrived at the determined location of the UE to the UE.   
     
     
         16 . A user equipment (UE) comprising:
 a transmitter to transmit a radio communication signal to call a cleaning robot to a location of the UE;   a receiver to receive a radio communication signal about a state of operation of the cleaning robot from the cleaning robot; and   a display unit to display a state of operation of the cleaning robot based on a radio communication signal received from the cleaning robot.   
     
     
         17 . The UE of  claim 16 , wherein the display unit is configured to display at least one of whether the cleaning robot has received the radio communication signal, whether the cleaning robot has moved, or whether the cleaning robot has arrived at the location of the UE. 
     
     
         18 . The UE of  claim 17 , wherein the transmitter is configured to:
 transmit a radio communication signal multiple times while the cleaning robot is moving toward the UE.   
     
     
         19 . The UE of  claim 16 , further comprising an input unit to receive a command to transmit a radio communication signal to call the cleaning robot to the location of the UE to the cleaning robot. 
     
     
         20 . The UE of  claim 19 , further comprising a microprocessor to control transmission of the radio communication signal to the cleaning robot based on the command received through the input unit, and to display a state of operation of the cleaning robot based on a radio communication signal received from the cleaning robot.